Does Captain Nemo know about this?

My head is swimming…

I chop and pasted some highlights, but think this patent information that uses various nematocyst stinging cells as a pre-delivery system is really worth sifting through.

http://www.google.com/patents/US8287912



Use of stinging cells/capsules for the delivery of active agents to keratinous substances
US 8287912 B2
“Stinging cells” (e.g. cnidocytes, nematocytes and the like) or “stinging capsules” (e.g., cnidocysts, nematocysts and polar capsules) isolated therefrom have been proposed as suitable agents for tissue delivery of a therapeutic or cosmetic agents [U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,923,976 and 6,613,344 and U.S. Pat. App. No. 20040224013].

Cnidaria (hydras, sea anemones, jellyfish and corals) are aquatic animals, which possess a variety of compounds which are stored and delivered via specialized capsules (cnidocysts), which form a part of specialized cells termed stinging cells (cnidocytes, nematocytes, ptychocytes and the like). The stinging capsules are hard and dense and filled with liquid containing a highly folded, inverted tubule which may also feature specialized structures such as shafts, barbs, spines, and/or stylets. In nature, the cnidocyst discharges and releases its tubule into tissue following physical or chemical triggering.

As used herein, the phrase “a non-skin keratinous substance” refers to a keratin-containing substance which is not skin, disposed as the outermost protective covering of mammals which includes, but is not limited to, a hair shaft, a toenail, a fingernail, a hoof, a claw and a horn. The substance may or may not be part of an organism. The hair may be human hair including but not limited to body hair (such as arm-pit hair), scalp hair, pubic hair, eye brow hair and eye lash hair. The hair may also be mammalian hair such as fur, wool, bristles, spines or quills.
As used herein the phrase “stinging capsules” refers to the capsules (cnidocysts), which are contained in stinging cells. The phrase “stinging cells” refers to the specialized cells (e.g. cnidocytes or nematocytes) present in, for example, all members of the phylum Cnidaria, Myxozoa, and Dinoflagellata. The stinging capsules house the delivery tubule.

The stinging capsules act as microscopic syringes and serve as a prey or defense mechanism. The stinging capsule is a hardened dense capsule filled with liquid, containing a highly folded inverted tubule which sometimes features specialized structures such as shafts, barbs, spines, and/or stylets.

The stinging capsule according to the teachings of the present invention can be an isolated stinging capsule or alternatively it can form a part of a stinging cell. In any case, the stinging capsule or cell is derived from an organism of the phylum Cnidaria, Myxozoa, or Dinoflagellata.
The stinging cell or capsule utilized by the present invention is preferably derived from an organism of the class Anthozoa, Hydrozoa or Scyphozoa. More specifically, the stinging cell/capsule utilized by the present invention can be derived from, for example, subclasses Hexacorallia or Octocorallia of the class Anthozoa, (mostly sea anemone and corals), subclasses Siponophora or Hydroida of the class Hydrozoa, or from subclasses Rhisostomeae or Semastomeae of the class Scyphozoa.

~It will be appreciated that organs, tentacles, or parts of an organism, and the whole organism (hydra for example), which contain the stinging cells can be used without the need for prior isolation of individual stinging cells or for isolation of the capsules from the cells~.

As used herein, the phrase “in intimate proximity with the substance” refers to a range of distances from touching the substance to the furthest distance from the substance that the tubules are still able to penetrate.

Thus, according to the teachings of the present invention stinging cells or stinging capsules can be utilized for the in vivo or ex vivo delivery of a therapeutic or cosmetic agent into a keratinous substance.

Alternatively, discharge may be effected by hydration with a water-based composition such as saline or water, thereby opening channels in the keratinous substance and enhancing delivery of a subsequent topically applied agent.”